Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes
have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:2,5-6

ash wednesday 2001

a surplus of ashes
lies in heaps
as homes and villages
burn
fueled by hot flames
impassioned attempts
to cleanse immediate
neighborhoods
of the unwanted question
who is my neighbor

ankle deep in ashes
survivors look for remnants
of memories and dreams
torn
in a flash of flame
shriveled black photos
bear no resemblance to anything
then revenge
burns hot in hearts
and fires begin again

a small cross of ashes
is imposed on foreheads
on some who choose
worn
with the possibility
that such crosses
will shape minds hearts and thursdays
with the answer
and tip everything
upside down

David Kaiser
Visiting Professor at LTS 2000-2003